Halliburton (Hanover: HAL.HA – news) reported a $ 2.4 billion loss in the first quarter Tuesday following hefty costs for its failed merger bid for Baker Hughes and large asset write downs.
Revenues at the US oilfield services giant were $ 4.2 billion, down 40 percent from a year ago.
The loss was driven in large part by $ 2.8 billion in costs to downgrade assets whose value has cratered due to low oil prices.
Adding to that, Halliburton notched $ 538 million in Baker Hughes acquisition-related costs after the two companies scrapped their planned merger on Sunday following opposition from antitrust regulators.
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These large expenses dwarfed Halliburton’s profits from its completion and production and drilling and evaluation operations. Both of these businesses saw earnings fall compared with the year-ago period due to declining activity.
Excluding one-time items, Halliburton’s earnings translated into seven cents per share, three cents above analyst expectations.
Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE – news) dipped 0.1 percent to $ 42 in pre-market trade.
